What A Wonderful World?

In these almost entirely shitty times, I would like to take up some of the space on my little blog to mention the things that (for me) transcend the economy, the war, the GOP, the violence that people inflict on each other daily, and on and on...

In no particular order:

1. Eating a torta from Paquito's on 1st Ave.

2. The afternoon sun streaming in through the windows.

3. Reading Dlisted.

4. Having a three hour online chat about nothing particularly important with a friend.

5. Doing a jigsaw puzzle with my Dad while forcing him to listen to '80s music.

6. FailBlog.org.

7. The times when my Grandpa is having a good day, cracking jokes, telling old stories, not dwelling on all the people he has lost.

8. A nice bottle of sauvignon blanc.

9. Playing plastic lawnmower chase with my nephew.

10. Getting a way-too-long voicemail from my Mom.

11. Listening to the music I love.

12. Getting to see good live comedy any night of the week.

13. Those times when someone is acting really strange on the subway, and you meet eyes with a stranger because you are both having a similar WTF reaction, and then you both sort of quietly crack up.

14. Spending a lot of time taking walks in downtown Manhattan when the weather is nice.

15. That feeling when you are almost done reading a book you are really enjoying, but you still have some left, so you read really slowly, to make it last as long as possible, even though you might be dying in anticipation to find out what happens to everyone.

16. Flower boxes in windows.

17. Fresh produce.

18. Watching Netflix movies online.

19. LiveJournal icons with random people wearing Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Hat.

20. Days getting longer and nights getting shorter.

21. The view of the skyline from the 7 train.

22. When it's foggy at night and the lights of the city look like ghosts high up in the sky.

23. My friend Kane stopping in and hanging out with me at work when I am feeling lonely.

24. Pasta.

25. Flowers for sale at every deli on almost every corner.

26. Seeing what new stuff the hipsters have decided to embrace ironically every few months.

27. A bar with an exceptional jukebox.

28. Pears with cheese.

29. Going to a movie by myself in the middle of a weekday.

30. That small feeling of accomplishment when I've cooked and eaten something really tasty, and gotten everything cleaned up right away.

31. Sleeping in on the weekends, stretching and lazing about in bed like a cat.

32. Chocolate.

33. People who say "please" and "thank you."

34. When you discover a new song you really love or re-discover and old song you haven't listened to in ages, and you play it over and over and over...and then it starts to turn up on commercials or in tv shows. Makes the zeitgeist feel real.

35. New outfit combinations with pre-existing clothing.

36. Going out for dinner with friends.

37. A comfortable silence.

38. How, even though I own the DVD and almost never watch it, if I catch Breakfast At Tiffany's on tv I will always sit and watch the whole thing.

39. Drunk dancing.

40. The first few days of a new crush.

41. CelebReality shows.

42. Swimming in a pool.

43. My soft Swedish headboard from IKEA.

44. Getting a manicure.

45. Shipping couples on tv shows.

46. Quiet days at work when my boss is out of town.

47. The cat at work jumping into my lap and curling up.

48. A fried egg sandwich on wheat bread with mayonnaise.

49. Remembering that morning Carrie and I spent watching a bunch of hilarious '80s stuff on YouTube.

50. Being able to correctly identify different regional accents when I watch BBC-America.

Okay, so that's 50 things. It's not everything I love, of course, but it's enough to remind me what's good about the world, and how much of it there is to outweigh the bad.